Sunday, February 22, 2009

About Finding Joy in My Kitchen

My paternal grandmother raised 9 children. I hear stories that she used to bake more than 10 loaves of bread at a time. She and my grandfather butchered their own cows and chickens, made their own pickles and grew all their vegetables and grains.

I'm not like that.

I work full time outside of the home, teaching college kids about plants, food and the basics of biology. My husband works full time too, and although we have a garden, I can't imagine having cows and chickens in our backyard. Did I mention I'm not an animal person? Hence why I study plants.

I did inherit (whether by genes or default) my love of cooking and baking from my mom and grandmothers. All three of these amazing women were committed to feeding their families wholesome meals -- one did it in record time as kids were running in and out, one did it while working full time outside of the home, and one did it while working at home.

To do just that requires simple ingredients; you know, the ones you always have on hand. Not some one-time-use spice or herb that requires an extra trip to the store and never gets used again. What do I use capers for again?

And, that's my goal. Frog Prince and I want to feed our family meals that are as much from scratch as possible. We believe in good food, and good food that is easy to make!

About Us

I (SnoWhite) have been married to the love of my life -- my Frog Prince -- since 2007. Since then we've:

Completed our PhDs

Acquired real jobs

Moved 600 miles

Bought our first house, &

Started gardening

We picked up cooking as a hobby during graduate school, motivated to find a way to manage my food allergy while cooking healthy, easy meals on a budget. We started with an apple pie {not the easiest place to start, but, alas, that's where we began} and from there we quickly learned that cooking from scratch was not only easy but it was fun too.

About Finding Joy in My Kitchen

I was standing in the bread aisle of Meijer -- 600 miles away from home.

As I picked up and read the label for each loaf of bread made with some type of whole grain they all contained the same warning about being processed with, made on equipment with or actually containing nuts. Urg.

Nearly in tears - I called my mom.

"Mom.... how do you make bread?"

It was either that, or a loaf of Wonder Bread.

I've never been a white bread girl - I've loved my whole grains and certainly have a love for food. But that moment in the grocery store took my cooking to a whole other level. I had to rely on what I learned from my mom and start figuring out how to cook on my own.

When I had success with a recipe, I'd call my mom to tell her all about it. After a few weeks of calling her to see if she'd actually tried the recipe I had sent to her, she confessed that she needed to see a picture of the finished recipe before she would try it.

Turns out, she's not the only one who likes seeing photos of what they are aspiring to make.

I decided to start Finding Joy in My Kitchen during our first year of marriage -- just for my mom. I began posting recipes we tried, complete with step-by-step photos of the food. And, you know what? She started making some of our recipes. And you did too!

Finding Joy in My Kitchen started as as a place to document our cooking journey; now, it's a ministry to you. God has taught us much about using the food resources He's given to us to make wise and healthy food choices, and we've found that eating well and cooking from scratch is fun and enjoyable!

It is our hope that as you browse and try these recipes that you too will find joy in cooking food for your family too!

34 comments:

Hi! I just found your blog this week and have actually planned several meals with your recipes. Thank you for such a well planned out and beautifully done blog..and for all the great recipes. I have twin girls and am always in the market for good, made-from-scratch recipes. I will definitely be checking back a lot. Have a wonderful day!

Hi I just found your blog and I don't even know how. :) I think I am addicted. I have been struggling to get motivated to menu plan again. Now I am excited again. Thanks! Also could I link back to your blog if I use a recipe and decide to share instead of keeping it for myself?

Hey, I'm starting my own cooking blog. I was wondering how you arranged your archives. I wanted to start by just doing the labels column. But I'm computer stupid and I can only figure out how to do the "archives" by date. Can you point me in the right direction?sillyface@hotmail.com

Sarah - I love your blog, and I have shared it with a couple of my young women friends that have a great interest in becoming domestic but haven't had the experience. I was just looking at your white bean sauce as an alternative to Alfredo, and I'll be glad to add that to my list of recipes. We eat tons of beans and it's nice to have new ways to cook them. This made me think of a recipe I've tried a few times, and it's fun to serve it without "telling" - maybe you've tried it. You just use a good quality brownie mix, and replace the eggs, oil and water with a can of well mashed black beans. You get gooey delicious brownies. My 14 year old son even eats them, and he would be FURIOUS if he knew he was eating black beans : )

I just wanted to say how much I love your blog. I've probably cooked 10 different recipes following your instructions and though some have failed, several have turned out really well. I'm new to the whole cooking thing, and like you, never had any interest until now. But I'm actually finding cooking to be therapeutic. What I love about your blog are the pictures you include with your step by step instructions. That way I know what it supposed to look like if I'm doing something wrong. You should totally publish a cookbook. I'd buy it!

Hi! I just stumbled across your page, and I'm so glad I did! I love to cook but lately I've been short on ideas. I've looked through just a few of your recipes and we have similar cooking styles. So, now I'm inspired to get back in the kitchen Thanks

yay! I'm so glad I found your blog - thanks so much for your comment on mine. Where in Michigan are you living? It's so fun to meet other food bloggers from around here...it feels like an instant friend! :)

Hi, I just found your blog through another blog that I follow and it looks wonderful. I am real new to the whole blogging thing, but love to cook and try out new recipes, so I figured I'd blog about it so that others can enjoy the recipes too. Thanks so much for sharing recipes, as well as great tips on budgeting. :)

Hi! Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog! That was such a nice surprise. :) Now it's my turn for compliments...first, I love the name of your blog! I think food tastes better when it's made with joy. :) Second, I love that you are so enthusiastic and excited about cooking. It's so fun to read your story! -Claire

This blog is fantastic! I'm trying to make as much stuff from scratch as possible, and when I did a google search for "homemade crackers" your recipes popped up! Excited to see what other awesome recipes I find here. :)

Absolutely delighted and refreshed to find your blog and hear your story so clearly presented. I am encouraged of your journey and the success&platform God has given you. Thanks for your hard work, great recipes and lovely Truth that you pass on!

I love your blog and have been stocking it for the past 6 months or so. It is helping me make changes in the way me and my family eat and has helped me find "joy in my kitchen." Thank you for all your inspiration. Btw, do you have a cook book???LaToya

I stumbled across your blog this morning and what a delightful inspiration! The hubby and I have started cooking more together and not just the kids and I or myself for them. Cooking together always brings loved ones close together and creates wonderful family memories. Happy Holidays!

Hi Trish -- my PhD is in plant ecology :) I do/did biogeochemical cycling... that's about as close as I get to biochemistry! But, I do love carbon. I teach biology (general & plant) presently, and right now a course on food.

Good afternoon! I recently came across your blog and enjoy all of the great food that you make. I would love to feature you and your recipes on our site www.RecipeLion.com as well as with our readers and in our newsletters.

Let me know if this is of any interest to you and thanks for all of the great recipes.

What wonderful recipes you have on your site! I love your style of cooking and ingredients you use. I am using one of your recipes (green bean rice skillet) on my blog today in fact (I linked it back to you)! I have many more of your recipes I want to try too :-)

I am working on setting up a "picture" index of my recipes and I love how you did yours. I see you are using a linky party to do this and I would love to ask a few questions, first a for most, when you click on the "category" breakfast, where do you store that linky? is it on a post or is it on a seperate page? Please email me if you have time to share some wisdom, thanks a million tinahudgens@aol.com

When cooking, please make sure to follow kitchen hygiene and safety -- cook meat until internal temperature is at safe levels, always check labels for allergens, and use caution in the kitchen -- I love sharing recipes, but I am not liable for damages done as a result of trying these recipes.